UAW blasts Stellantis for 'disgusting' layoffs at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant

Detroit — Stellantis NV on Monday laid off 199 workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which builds Ram 1500 pickups, a union official confirmed.

Michael Spencer, president of United Auto Workers Local 1700, which represents workers at the plant, said in an email that the layoffs were "disappointing, disgusting and a disservice" to employees.

The maker of Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and other vehicles also is planning to lay off an unspecified number of additional workers at its U.S. factories in the coming months to deal with a rapidly changing global auto market, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

“Trust me, the leadership here is going to fight like hell with the membership and make sure that they honor their commitments,” UAW President Shawn Fain said of Stellantis during a Facebook Live on Tuesday evening in response to member comments about the automaker. “And you know what? Stellantis is pathetic. Honestly, the leadership is pathetic. You got a CEO over there across the pond that wants to talk about how they need to cut costs and all this stuff, but it didn’t stop him from giving himself a 56% pay increase."

Stellantis' layoff statement comes as the company faces increased capital spending to make the transition from gasoline vehicles to electric autos. It also has reported declining U.S. sales in the first quarter, and it has higher costs due to a new contract agreement reached last year with the UAW. Stellantis has about 43,000 U.S. factory workers.

"With a focus on preserving business fundamentals in a highly competitive and challenging U.S. automotive industry, Stellantis continues to take action to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing facilities," the company said in its statement.

Ongoing operations reviews would result in "indefinite layoffs" over the next few months, the company added, which would "help improve productivity and ensure the company’s long-term sustainability in a rapidly changing global market."

The company wouldn't discuss the Sterling Heights job cuts or give details of when the indefinite layoffs would start or state specific reasons for them.

Spencer, the Local 1700 leader, expressed his deep frustration with the company in an email to The Detroit News.

"We are talking about families and communities that are directly affected by a company that chooses to play monopoly with people('s) lives," he wrote. "In order to build a successful future the investment has to be with the same people that makes your product and profits possible and successful.

"Manipulation and lack of integrity are characteristics of wolves in sheep clothing especially if you control the public narrative and choose not to invest in the infrastructure, development and engineering," he added, also labeling the company's mantra as one that put "profits over people." Automotive News first reported the Sterling Heights layoffs.

Ram pickup sales were down 15% in the first quarter, with 89,417 sold, compared to a year earlier. Overall, Stellantis sales were down 10% in the U.S. for the quarter.

The company has already laid off hundreds of both white-collar and supplemental workers this year, including in Detroit and Toledo.

Some of those supplemental worker terminations, about 300, had been at the Sterling Heights facility earlier this year, Spencer said. Stellantis had long relied heavily on the lower-paid supplemental workers to cover shifts, but since its new contract with the UAW was signed last fall, most of these workers have either been terminated or rolled over into full-time positions with full pay and benefits.

The local union leader said now the company has said it wants to hire some supplemental workers back on at his facility, "while at the same time" deciding to place the 199 workers on indefinite layoff on Monday.

"Make it make sense," he said.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has said his company has to work on cutting costs globally in order to keep electric vehicles affordable for the middle class. Electric vehicles, he has said, cost about 40% more than those powered by gasoline. Without cost reductions, EVs will be too expensive for the middle class, shrinking the market and driving costs up more, Tavares has said.

Fain, in his Facebook Live comments Tuesday, criticized Tavares' pay, including a 56% increase from 2022 to 2023. Shareholders last week cleared the way for the CEO to earn about a $39 million compensation package this year.

Fain said union members shouldn't "lose sight of the fact that ... the company is the enemy here."

Associated Press contributed.